Install RSAT Tools on Windows 10 version 1809 and later

This post covers the steps to install RSAT tools on Windows 10 version 1809 and later. Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 10 lets IT administrators manage Windows Server from a remote computer running Windows 10. In the past RSAT tools were available for downloads in the form of .msu files. So one could simply download the msu file and install RSAT Tools.

Another way of deploying RSAT tools was using SCCM. Here is my blog post on deploying RSAT tools for windows 10 using SCCM.

Starting with Windows 10 October 2018 Update, RSAT is included as a set of “Features on Demand” in Windows 10. That means you do not need to download an RSAT package now. Instead, on your Windows 10 computer, go to “Manage optional features” in Settings and click “Add a feature”. You will see the list of available RSAT tools. Select and install the specific RSAT tools you need.

Suppose that I require only group policy management tool, I can simply select Group Policy Management Tools and install it. Most of all the advantage of installing it via Features on Demand is that installed features persist across Windows 10 version upgrades.

Before you plan to install RSAT tools on Windows 10 version 1809, ensure you read the below points.

You cannot install RSAT on computers that are running Home or Standard editions of Windows.

You can install RSAT only on Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise editions.

To install RSAT Tools on Windows 10 version 1809, click Start. Click Settings and from the settings page, click Apps.

On the right pane, under Apps & features, click Manage optional features.

Now click + Add a feature.

Wait for the list of features to be populated. Scroll down until you see RSAT features. Now select any of the RSAT feature that you wish to install. In this case, I am selecting RSAT: Group Policy Management Tools feature. Click Install.

Click the back icon and wait until the feature is installed. Now you should find Group Policy Management Tools under Start > Windows Administrative Tools.

In addition to installing via the graphical Settings app, you can also install specific RSAT tools via command line or automation using DISM /Add-Capability.

On Windows 10 computer, launch the command prompt as administrator. Run the below command.

DISM.exe /Online /Get-Capabilities

This command lists all the capabilities and shows whether the capability is present or not present. In this case, I will be installing the RSAT group policy management tools. Therefore right click and copy the capability identity.

Now in the same command prompt, run the below command to install RSAT Group policy management tools.

The tools are installed and you will see the message that the operation is completed successfully.

Uninstall RSAT Feature on Windows 10

In the above steps you understood how to install RSAT feature. To uninstall the RSAT feature, go to Manage optional features. Select the RSAT feature that’s currently installed on Windows 10. Click Uninstall and this will uninstall the selected RSAT feature.